Volunteer Spotlight: From Montana to Kharkiv

In recent months, the Solar Panel Project of volunteer organization Sunflower Seeds Ukraine (SFSU) completed a remarkable feat: delivering nearly 200 solar panels across more than 8,500 kilometers of land and ocean to the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI). The effort required passionate volunteers, international cooperation, and generous donors. SFSU, a fiscally-sponsored program, accepted four tons of decommissioned equipment from an American nonprofit in Montana and transferred it to KPI, where the panels will support the university’s off-grid energy system and serve educational and research programs.

The project began when a Montana-based NGO decommissioned a national park’s solar array and sought a worthy cause for the equipment. An employee reached out to Andriy Lenec, a key representative of SFSU. Andriy connected with Pat Strong, a well-networked friend who had a contact at KPI.

That contact turned out to be Dr. Ksenia Minakova, a researcher and professor in KPI’s Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics. Known for her work in alternative energy, Dr. Minakova quickly identified multiple applications for the incoming solar panels. Given Russia’s sustained attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure throughout the war, Andriy determined that KPI, a national university with a strong history in technological innovation, was ideally positioned to put the equipment to use.

Andriy and Dr. Minakova led what became a successful coordination campaign. But as Andriy readily acknowledges, the operation depended on a network of skilled, dedicated individuals: Dr. Zelikova, Ulana Bihun, Krista and Alex Yedidovich, and Charlie Wesley. Each played a critical role in moving the panels from Montana to Kharkiv.

Dr. Zelikova and Bihun were instrumental in the project’s administration, with Zelikova largely responsible for SFSU’s decision to sponsor it. Krista Yedidovich served as the in-house logistics expert, coordinating shipping and customs alongside Alex Yedidovich, who oversaw safe handling and preparation of the panels for international transport. Charlie Wesley, CEO of Gulfhawk Logistics and a partner since the project’s earliest days, arranged SFSU’s packing and transportation to its Colorado warehouse. Additional support came from a representative of the contributing nonprofit and a number of anonymous donors.

The result of so many hands working toward a common goal: four tons of equipment traveled from Montana to Colorado to Ukraine in under a year. What began as a decommissioned energy grid became a transformative addition to KPI’s infrastructure and a proof of concept for what international solidarity can accomplish. The faculty and students of Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute now have new capabilities, both energetic and educational, built on the work of people who never stopped believing the distance could be crossed.